Two days ago, someone called my son the ‘N’word. He was on the school bus. My son called me while I was leading a meeting for the residency program to tell me. He is 10 yo. The other boy is also 10. (This is a thread...)
I excused myself from the meeting to talk him through it. He was in tears. He was confused. The boy asked him, “what are you going to do if I call you the ‘N’ word, then proceeded to blurt it out.
After consoling my son I helped him create a plan of action with which he was comfortable. I hung up the phone and my eyes welled with tears.
A colleague walked in - another Black Female doc - and sat down with me. She asked me what happened. She debriefed with me and created space for me until I felt some peace.
I went back to my meeting and proceeded as if nothing had happened.
That evening I led a Faculty workshop on Creating Inclusive Spaces in Academic Medicine, where I outlined how toxic Academia can be. I discussed @dr_uche_bee piece in statnews. I offered tools to make our spaces more inclusive.
During a role play where I was meant to give feedback to a resident who demonstrates implicit bias in his treatment plan for a patient, I was told by a white male colleague that my feedback was painful to watch and that I had shut the white male resident down...
That I hadn’t taken the time to partner with him and create laterality in our relationship before forcing him to do what I want. What I wanted was for the resident to ask the Spanish speaking patient direct questions with an interpreter
And model shared decision making. Not to allow bias to influence management decisions for the patient.
The other members of the workshop pointed these truths out. It may have been difficult for the attendee to watch a Black woman attending giving critical feedback to a White male resident...I cannot say for sure. I tried to hear his perspective to better inform my own.
Again I turned to my friends and colleagues - @traceyguthriemd Black and White, Male and Female, to help me understand this participant’s responses. To help make my workshop better.
The next day I met with two incredible medical students, one White, one Black, both women, who are going to change the world with their intelligence, their passion, their stories...I advised them and reminded them of their value, their worth and their talent...
The toxicity is everywhere - personal and work life. For me, the love and support are also ubiquitous. I am called upon to comfort and to teach. Others comfort me and teach me as well. While protecting myself, I am asked to shore up others.
36 hrs in the life of a Black woman in academic medicine...grateful, bewildered, exhausted. Back at it today...undaunted.
I am blown away by the words of support I have received from you all on Twitter! Thank you so much for demonstrating how we all are empowered to uplift and change the culture - in academic medicine and in the world. #DiversityIsOurStrength #Diversity #MedEd #blackwomen
